Did you know that Einstein, one of the greatest minds of the 20th century, wore the exact same style of outfit every day? This wasn’t merely because he was a quirky scientist — there was a far more profound reasoning behind his fashion sense (or lack thereof). When you simplify your wardrobe, you free up time and energy to exert towards achieving your goals.

In essence, when you don’t spend an hour getting ready in the morning, or stressing over which pair of heels goes with which handbag, you automatically find yourself with several more hours a week in which to be productive.

But I Need Everything in My Closet!

But I love my Prada stilettos and Valentino menswear ensemble! Don’t worry, I’m not telling you to get rid of your entire gorgeous wardrobe. If you aren’t ready to follow in the footsteps of Einstein, the idea here is simplification. This falls in line with my previous posts about decluttering — whereas before I was speaking primarily about your workspace, this extends to your life in its entirety. If one aspect of your life is cluttered, the rest will follow suit.

Stylish Clothes or Space Hogs?

Over the years we acquire closets full of garments, stacks upon stacks of items, which appealed to us at one point or another. As time passes, we have our “favorites,” which we tend to wear countless times — while the bulk of the other clothes become simply space hogs. Even though we may not wear these items, we must still wade through them each day and decide whether or not to try them on.

Sometimes this can be an extremely exhausting and stressful process, especially when we become emotionally attached to a garment which may never quite fit again. So, why not remove them from the equation?

The Capsule Wardrobe

Many high-profile individuals attribute the “capsule wardrobe” as a factor in their success. In a nutshell, a “capsule wardrobe” is a mini-wardrobe. Recommendations vary, but basically you assemble 25 to 40 pieces of clothing and accessories based around a basic color scheme for each season of the year.

The pieces coordinate with each other so assembling stylish outfits becomes much simpler. The trick is to identify which fits are most flattering for your body and only buy in that fit. For example, skinny jeans might look great on one frame but be unflattering on another.

Basic Spring Capsule Wardrobe

A basic spring capsule wardrobe would look something like this list below, using neutral colors like tan, black, gray, blue and white.

Each piece would look slightly different — for example, for long sleeve tees, one might be fitted with stripes, one might be v-neck and the third might be loose and flowing. Of course, this list would vary depending on the dress code at work and your recreational activities.

You can even fill in a chart where you can list your items and what they coordinate with. Click here to download a wardrobe essentials checklist to get you started.

Benefits of Assembling a Capsule Wardrobe:

• Save significant time — fewer choices means it’s easier and faster to assemble coordinated outfits
  
• Save money because you no longer spend money on clothes you don’t end up wearing
• Since you’re buying fewer clothing items, you can splurge on higher quality, classier items for a more sophisticated look
• Less stress worrying about how long it’s taking you to get ready or trying to determine what goes with what
• More energy to tackle the important things
• More confidence knowing you look “put together”
• Finding your true style

Sounds pretty good, doesn’t it? You might be pretty amazed to see how stylish — and productive you can be with a simplified closet.

Have you ever tried a capsule wardrobe or other wardrobe simplification techniques to improve productivity? Let us know how it went in the comments section below!

Image attribution: simplified closet